Panasonic Avionics has announced the appointment of Andrew Masson as vice-president of product & portfolio management. Masson joins Panasonic from Adient Aerospace, Boeing’s aircraft seat joint venture with Adient, where he served as CEO.

At Panasonic, Masson will lead its global product & portfolio management team and “guide the company’s product and services strategy to deliver innovations and value to customers”. In addition, he will seek to “improve and expand customer-focused product management processes and manage development and execution across the product lifecycle for Panasonic’s IFE&C products, digital solutions and aftermarket services”, according to the company.

Masson will report to the company’s CEO, Ken Sain, who commented: “I am confident that Andy’s broad and relevant experience, track record and enthusiasm will greatly enhance Panasonic’s product portfolio to benefit customers worldwide.  He will build upon a legacy of innovation as we continually strive to make flying an experience everyone looks forward to.”

Solid industry background

Prior to his tenure with Adient Aerospace, Masson held several leadership positions at Boeing, including director of engineering and chief engineer for modifications and freighter conversions, and director of interior modifications and inflight entertainment. Masson also served as executive VP of engineering and operations for Continental Data Graphics (CDG), as well as UK managing director.  He began his career at CDG as operations director, 787 operations manager and service bulletin retrofit engineer.

 Masson holds two degrees from the University of Hertfordshire in the UK, a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Engineering, and will be based in Irvine, California.

Earlier this month, Panasonic Avionics was selected by JetBlue for its live sports in-flight offering on the airline’s Airbus A321 long-range aircraft. Panasonic is the exclusive provider of Sport 24, the world’s first and only live in-flight sports platform. It broadcasts 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, connecting airline passengers to more than 16 hours of premium live content from over 30 different global sports leagues each day.